Recently we heard that former Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is a longtime independent, officially filed papers with the Federal Elections Commission and declared his run for president as a Democrat. Sanders decided to run as a Democrat in the presidential race, in order to allow him to participate in the primary debates. By declaring himself as a member of the Democratic Party, he has the opportunity to confirm the vote of individuals who are also Democratic.

However, this has raised questions for many people. Many are wondering how Sanders proudly represented himself as a member of the independent party throughout his entire political career and is just now claiming himself as a democrat. There have even been various incidences where Sanders made negative comments about the Democratic party, which further confuses many politicians and the general population.

In his book, “Outsider in the White House,” Sanders wrote: “Over the years I had been extremely critical of the Democratic Party and its tepidness about fighting for the working families of this country.”

In the same book, he describes the 1996 Democratic convention, when former President Bill Clinton was the party’s nominee, as “heavily scripted and entirely poll-driven.”

In a radio interview in 2011, Sanders said that there are “millions of Americans who are deeply disappointed in the president” and said “it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition.”

During a recent interview on ABC, Sanders was asked about his contradictory statements on President Barack Obama and he denied the notion that he would ever work against Obama. He also spoke of their close friendship and also disclosed that he believes Obama has shaped our country in a positive manner.

So how does Sanders’ declaration affect his presidential candidacy so far?

In a new McClatchy-Marist poll, Sanders leads Republican candidate Donald Trump by a landslide margin of 12 percentage points, 53 to 41. In the McClatchy poll, Sanders also leads former Governor Jeb Bush by a landslide margin of 10 points, 51 to 41. This data shows that Sanders has a lead, and if it continues in future polls, he would win a landslide victory in the presidential campaign.

In comparison with the Republican nominees, Sanders' declaration also shows Americans that they are able to trust a person who never had to evolve towards progressive stances on war, foreign policy, Wall Street, and other environmental issues. Despite the fact that Senator Hillary Clinton is also a candidate, polls have shown that under half of the democratic party would only support her because she is the nominee.

This is when we can start to make sense of Sanders' declaration as a Democrat. Because Americans are more enthusiastic about Sanders (in comparison to Clinton), voting only for him will help the Democratic party evolve away from Republicans and taking lead of the 2016 presidential elections.